For this assignment, I want you to review a reference collection at a library of your choosing. A main purpose of this assignment is to get you familiar with reference sources you may have never seen or used (yet). You may want to choose the same library you plan to use for your reference desk observation study so that you can ask specific questions that you have about the reference resources available, and how the collection is formally assessed.
Take a look at chapters 4-12 and 15. Each chapter focuses on a different reference resource type. As you review the reference collection take note of the following:
1) Does the library have items representing the major reference sources discussed in our text?
2) What do you feel might be missing?
3) Does the reference collection seem to reflect the needs of the community it is serving? Why or why not?
4) Are reference sources generally up-to-date? Are most of the reference resources digital?
5) What are at least three reference sources you discovered that you believe you could make use of often?
6) What are at least three reference sources that you feel are missing from the collection, or need updated?
Collection Assessment for the Liberty branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library System 800xs| 170730 | Brian Whitmer Authors Note: For my collection assessment, I have selected the Liberty branch of the Mid-Continent Public Library (MCPL) which is a 3 county consolidated library group serving Clay, Jackson, and Platte counties in Missouri. MCPL ranks 20th nationally for the size of the collection of public library systems and consists of 31 branch libraries. As a result of its size, MCPL has a large collection of online resources which are detailed in a 28-page online resource catalog. The majority of branches no longer have a dedicated reference section – with most reference resources being consolidated at the North Independence branch and biographical references being held at the Midwest Genealogical Center branch. The Liberty branch reference section is tucked away in a far corner of the library behind the rows of the nonfiction collection. There is no signage point out the reference collection. A large survey map of clay county decorates the wall and can be considered part of the reference collection. Tables are located outside the nonfiction section for use in consulting large reference works like the atlas and materials contained in 3-ring binders. The space is well-lit by fluorescent ceiling lighting. The collection is housed in eight, five-shelved book cases - back to the wall. Of the eight cases, three are dedicated to Missouri and Clay County resources in particular – including a full book case of microfilm records of county legal documents like marriage records and deeds and four shelves dedicated to hazardous landfill information in three-ring binders.
Collection assessment – print and online The first surprise upon visiting the reference section was finding a 2017 World Book Encyclopedia – 100th Anniversary Commemorative Edition! A companion 2017 Atlas was also part of the collection. This immediately felt like the reference collection I grew up with. Browsing through the remainder of the shelves I took an inventory of the titles and types of material that were available. Clearly, the local community values having: (1) religious reference works: The New Interpreters Bible 12 volume collection, Butler’s Lives of the Saints, and religious atlases covering Christianity and Islam were the highlights of a large collection of religious reference works; (2) small business resources: two shelves were devoted to the Small Business Sourcebook collection and affiliated single volume business resources and directories; (3) construction and building: numerous builders codes for plumbing, electrical, HVAC, residential and land development; and (4) Missouri and local materials: law codes for Liberty, Clay County, and Missouri are complimented by several shelves of works of county history, Missouri history and biography, and local native American works. Biographical and Federal government sources seemed light by comparison with only a few volumes on the reference shelf and none of the top ten recommend by our textbook. The shelves do contain something from most major categories outlined by Cassell and Hiremath in chapters 4-12 with familiar top ten titles including the Literary Market Place (2017), The World Book Encyclopedia (2017), local telephone directories, Chases’s Calendar of Events (2017), Statistical Abstract of the United States (2013), World Almanac (2015), CRC Handbook of Chemistry and Physics (2011), Occupational Outlook Handbook (2016),Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations (2002), Webster’s New World Dictionary (2014), Gray’s Anatomy (2005), The Merck Manual (human (2011) and veterinary (2016)), Physicians’ Desk Reference (2016), Rand McNally Road Atlas (2016), Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World (2005), and the United States Government Manual (2015). They are quite up-to-date as well. These are further enhanced and augmented with an extensive set of online resources that includes the Columbia Gazetteer, Encyclopedia Britannica (Full and kids), MEDLINE, Oxford English Dictionary, and Value Line Investment Survey as well as access to numerous electronic database including Academic One File and Search Elite, Kids InfoBits, Literature Criticism Online, MasterFILE Premier, and The Readers’ Guide to Periodical Literature. The takeaway – the Liberty community is well-served by their reference collection having an abundant selection of local interest reference materials as well as outstanding and up-to-date at-hand works for the major reference areas plus a vast collection of online resources. Suggestions for future collection additions I would recommend adding the following four reference sources to the collection: The Grove Dictionary of Art, The McGraw-Hill Encyclopedia of Science, and The Guide to Reference Books (11th edition, 1996) or the three volumes of The New Walford Guide to Reference Resources (2005). I think adding a collection of art and science resources would serve the interests of the local community admirably. There is a vibrant local arts community and the Liberty school district is heavily invested in promoting and teaching the curriculum initiative STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics) Having two major resources that complement and extend the value of the other would be a good fit for the community. My third and fourth choices might seem odd on the surface, but they reflect a growing conviction that much knowledge is being lost during the digital migration from print to online. Not every work of reference is being converted. To prevent those resources being forgotten, I think a reference to reference is a necessary and valuable addition to any library reference collection. Personal discovery This has been a dangerous assignment for me. I found several works in the course of the reading and library exploration that I will be using for future projects. I will limit my observations to three print works found at Liberty. (1) The American Counties covers the origins and history of the counties of the United States and will be used to help me in my personal project of cataloging the public libraries in Missouri (2) The Encyclopedia of the North American Colonies is a three volume work that covers the Spanish, French, Dutch and English colonies in parallel. This is a brilliant approach and helpful in understanding the later historical cultural patterns of areas originally settled by different nations. (3) The Dictionary of Missouri Biography is a compact, single volume covering the lives of notable Missourians. Browsing its pages, I was surprised to learn that Norbert Wiener, the pioneer of the science of control and communication, cybernetics, was born and raised in Columbia, Missouri. Most of the biographies in this volume at not available through an online source making this quite a find for historical research. Conclusions While I appreciate and use the digital reference sources offered through MCPL, I continue to believe there is a need to provide non-online reference materials to meet the needs of less computer literate patrons and because print in many ways still has advantageous over the current deployment of digital reference – there is no latency when turning the pages of book, no need to sign-in, no system errors, more natural reading affordances, and superlative random access. I’m glad to have them available at the Liberty branch and the carefully selected resources that bet serve the community. References Cassell, K. A., & Hiremath, U. (2013). Reference and information services: An introduction. (3rd ed.) Chicago, IL: Neal Schuman.